| Killer Bean Forever | |
| Director: | Jeff Lew |
| Producer: | Jeff Lew |
| Starring: | Vegas E. Trip Bryan Session David Guilmette Matthew Tyler Jeff Lew |
| Music: | Justin R. Durban Jeff Lew |
| Cinematography: | Jeff Lew |
| Editing: | Jeff Lew |
| Studio: | Killer Bean Studios |
| Distributor: | Cinema Management Group |
| Runtime: | 85 minutes |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
| Budget: | <$1 million |
Killer Bean Forever is a 2008 American animated action film written, produced, and directed by Jeff Lew, starring Vegas E. Trip, Bryan Session, David Guilmette, Matthew Tyler and Jeff Lew. It was preceded by two web shorts: Killer Bean: The Interrogation in 1996, and Killer Bean 2: The Party in 2000. Taking place in a world of anthropomorphic coffee beans, the film's plot follows a bean assassin named Jack "Killer" Bean, who is sent to hunt down a crime boss, while he himself is hunted by mercenaries and the police.
In 2020, an animated series that continues the story of the film was announced, and premiered on September 6, 2020, but was cancelled in August 2021. In the same month, a game simply titled Killer Bean was announced, which also continues the film's story. The movie has obtained a cult following online since 2018.
One late night, Killer Bean, an agent of the Shadow Agency, calls a DJ at a nearby warehouse party to lower the music's volume as it is causing a disturbance. The DJ does not listen to his request, prompting Killer Bean to shoot everyone at the warehouse. The DJ reveals he is a nephew of Cappuccino, a notorious crime boss and drug lord, after Killer Bean confronts him. After the shooting, Detective Cromwell and a police officer investigate the crime scene. Vagan, a lackey for Cappuccino, arrives near the warehouse and is informed by Cromwell about Killer Bean's involvement in the shooting.
Later that morning, Killer Bean is interrupted by his superior in an attempt to assassinate Cromwell. Killer Bean's superior chastises him for shooting up the warehouse and to kill the actual target. Meanwhile, Jet Bean, another agent from the Shadow Agency, is eating at a restaurant and is assigned to kill Killer Bean. Before leaving the restaurant, Jet Bean is notified about the bill and knocks out an enraged chef after refusing to pay it. At that same time, Cappuccino learns of his nephew's death and orders Vagan to kill Killer Bean, and Detective Cromwell, with his colleague Harry assisting him, identifies Killer Bean, who is already at his reported location—an abandoned warehouse owned by Cappuccino.
At the warehouse, Vagan ambushes Killer Bean, but it ends in both leaving unscathed. Inside a bar, Killer Bean confirms his identity to Cromwell, but declines his request to kill Cappuccino. Outside, Cromwell confronts Killer Bean about the identity of “Shadow Bean,“ but Killer Bean refuses to provide information. Cromwell learns from Harry that a “Shadow Bean“ refers to a member of the Shadow Agency, an organization that formerly worked with the government.
Killer Bean infiltrates another warehouse owned by Cappuccino and kills the gang members and the mercenaries sent there, but he is ultimately knocked out by an explosion from Vagan's motorcycle. Cappuccino interrogates Killer Bean about his target, with Killer Bean revealing that his target is Vagan. Cappuccino, who fires Vagan, gets killed in retaliation. Killer Bean and Vagan have a standoff, with the latter revealing that he is a former agent of the Shadow Agency who stole their databases after realizing the agency went from vigilantes to mercenaries who will serve anyone, and assassinating those who question it. Killer Bean shoots Vagan out of denial, but Vagan warns him the agency will go after him next before dying. Cromwell, who witnessed the infiltration from afar, arrives with the entire police force, prompting Killer Bean to surrender as it could protect him from the agency.
Upon learning of Killer Bean's arrest, Jet Bean intentionally gets himself arrested in order to see Killer Bean. At the police station, he kills every police officer there, and confronts Killer Bean in his jail cell. Jet Bean tells Killer Bean that Vagan was a threat to the Shadow Agency, confirming Killer Bean's suspicion about them. The confrontation leads into a fight between the two and ends in Jet Bean's death. Outside the station, Killer Bean informs his boss about an upcoming meeting and drives away in a police van full of weapons.
The concept for Killer Bean came in a short produced by Jeff Lew in 1996 entitled "The Killer Bean: The Interrogation", which was later called "Killer Bean 1". Jeff Lew intended this short only to teach himself animation, and it only received about 3000 hits. After practicing animation for about 2 years, Lew started work on "The Killer Bean 2: The Party", a 7-minute short. "The Killer Bean 2" took about 3 years to create, and was released on iFilm in 2000. In about 6 months, it received about a million views, which was significant before YouTube.[1] [2] A later edit, "Killer Bean 2.1", was uploaded to DivX in 2004. "Killer Bean 2.1" was also later uploaded to YouTube in 2009, which has since gained more than 4 million views.
After receiving various calls from movie producers that never developed, Lew decided to make a full feature film himself. The first rough draft of the screen play took about 5 months. Previsualization (previz) took about one and a half years. One mistake Lew regretted was not making the concept art before previz, which meant that many of the previz shots could not be reused for final animation. Lew then posted an ad on Craigslist for voices, and auditioned about 20 people and cast four. The concept artist for the characters was Von C. Caberte.[3] By July 2005, all pre-production was completed.
The film took about five years to create, with approximately one and half years in pre-production and three years in animation. Killer Bean Forever had approximately 1000 animated shots.[4] Generally, animators are given 1–4 weeks to complete one shot, and thus to create 1000 shots would have taken 20 years. Lew used an inexpensive 2D motion capture system to speed up animation, primarily with lip-sync.[5] During this time, Lew also worked as an animator on major Hollywood productions including The Matrix Reloaded and X-Men.
In 2008, the worldwide rights to Killer Bean Forever were acquired by Cinema Management Group.[6] That same year, the film was screened for buyers at the Toronto Film Festival.
The film was released on DVD in the United States on July 14, 2009.
In May 2018, the film was officially uploaded to YouTube in its entirety in 4K resolution, gaining over 60 million views as of May 2024.[7]
Scott McDanel of RMU Sentry Media called the film "an absolute dumpster fire," but wrote that he would "still highly recommend it as a 'it's-so-bad-it's-good' flick."[8]
The YouTube upload significantly contributed to the film's cult following, causing moments and references of the film to become a meme.[9]
In 2012, a mobile game, Killer Bean: Unleashed, was released for Android and iOS. Taking place shortly after Killer Bean Forever, the story follows Killer Bean who is on the run from mercenaries, while hunting the Shadow Agency's top Shadow Bean, Major Firepower. In 2021, the game received several updates on Android, the first updating the game to a newer version of Unity to prepare for new levels. Then, the game was updated to use 3D models instead of sprites and added the Pixel levels. Later updates added new levels and enemies.
A third-person, open-world shooter game based on Killer Bean was announced in August 2021. Lew plans on bringing the game to Windows, MacOS and Linux in 2024, and consoles such as PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and Nintendo Switch after the game's full release. The game is planned to cost US$20.[10] [11] [12] In August 2023, an official trailer was uploaded for the game, announcing a demo and showcasing gameplay of the game. The game will launch in early access on Steam in 2024.[13] an extended gameplay trailer was revealed during Summer Game Fest 2024.[14] [15]
In January 2020, Lew revealed Killer Bean's return in a 10+ episode web series,[16] although it had been delayed in late February.[17] Lew claimed that famous YouTubers and fans will voice act the characters in the series.[18]
On May 10, 2020, The Return of Killer Bean, a teaser for the web series, was released onto YouTube.[17] "The Return of Killer Bean" was released as a teaser for the upcoming 2020 series in 4K. The short features Killer Bean attacking a group of mercenaries, but when the last surviving bean threatens to shoot a hole through his car door, just like he did with his mother's, Killer Bean attempts to reason with him. Claiming that the mercenary has some personal problems, Killer Bean lets him take his car and throws him the keys. The last bean tries to find the keys in some trash bags, but when he finds them, the keys are actually an explosive device. The explosion throws the mercenary into a garbage can, though he survives, before Killer Bean leaves in his car.
On September 6, 2020, the first episode was released.[19] On November 20, 2020, the second and final episode was released.[20]
In August 2021, due to the new Killer Bean game in development and getting false copyright claims on YouTube before,[21] [22] Lew announced that the series is no longer in production.
On October 1, 2022, a new series titled Killer Bean - The Prequel was officially announced. Taking place before the events of Killer Bean Forever, the story follows Killer Bean's training into the Shadow Agency. The first episode titled Driving School was released on September 29, 2022.